India U-19 stars cricketer Prithvi Shaw and stylish batsmen Manjot Kalra enjoyed a dream run in the under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand early in 2018. The exploits of the young Indian teens helped them bag lucrative IPL contracts with Delhi Daredevils in the 11th edition of the IPL. While Shaw led the team with great maturity, Kalra slammed a match-winning century in the final to help India lift a historic fourth U-19 World Cup title.
However, life from junior cricket has gone one step ahead to the cauldron known as Indian Premier League. The 51-day long tournament will test the mettle of the young brigade as they go head to head with best cricketers in the world. But are they mentally prepared for the high-intensity games? Going by their confidence and attitude Shaw and Kalra are ready to grab the opportunities that come their way, which they know will be few and far.
It has only been a few days since the duo have joined the Daredevils camp but the U-19 World Cup winning captain says that it seems longer than that. “So far it has been really good. All these practice sessions are helping us come together as a group. It has just been 3-4 days we have been together but seems longer than that.” said Shaw. From the erstwhile thought ‘process’ the Daredevils have opted to go with an aggressive combination of skipper Gautam Gambhir and coach Ricky Ponting. For now, it seems to augur well for the youngsters.
